Today Sector News – 27.04.2018
* AVIATION: Vistara, the joint venture air carrier of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, said it has become a member of the International Air Transport Association, a global body of 280 airlines. Ongoing privatization and mounting losses have not deterred the flag carrier Air India from adding to the already-bloated workforce, and is in the process of hiring around 270 co-pilots in the reserved category.
* BANKING: The government will soon acquire the stake of Reserve Bank of India in housing finance regulator National Housing Bank. The Enforcement Directorate said it has attached fixed deposits worth over 1.43 bln rupees in connection with a bank loan money laundering probe against a Chennai-based gold jewellery company. Promoters of stressed assets should be allowed to bid under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in case they are not wilful defaulters and the company has suffered on account of sectoral reasons, Confederation of Indian Industry President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said.
* FUNDS: Securities Appellate Tribunal has allowed Sahara group to withdraw the plea against Securities and Exchange Board of India order that directed Sahara Mutual Fund to wind up its schemes.
*INFRASTRUCTURE: The government has identified 100 locations where it is economically viable to have ropeway cable car projects, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets has signed a pact with the National Highways Authority of India for managing toll operations on nine highway projects after the emerging highest bidder for the same at an auction held earlier.
* MEDIA: UAE-based Aries Group's Indywood Consortium is investing $5 bln to construct 2,000 multiplex screens across India, Aries Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sohan Roy said.
* OIL AND GAS: India will work to create a network with other major oil buyers in Asia like China, South Korea, and Japan, to negotiate better terms with sellers, the country's Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in New Delhi on Thursday. Essar Oil and Gas will invest 9 bln rupees in drilling 150 more wells in its Raniganj CBM block in West Bengal to more than double gas output to 2.3 mln standard cubic mtr per day by 2021, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vilas Tawde said.
* PHARMACEUTICAL: The ongoing investigations by the US Department of Justice in the alleged collusion by generic drug companies in fixing drug prices in the US may make companies more wary of undertaking price hikes in the future even if the market presents them with an opportunity.
* RAILWAYS: The Indian Railways' ambitious plans to modernise railway stations by raising 100 bln rupees through sale or lease of land is yet to gather steam due to frequent revisions in contract terms and lack of clarity on land ownership. Indian Railways will do away with unmanned crossings in 11 zones by September and will soon set a deadline for the remaining five zones, the railway ministry said. The Central Railway earned over 10 mln rupees in the last financial year by renting its various premises and rail coaches for film shootings.
* STEEL: Numetal, in which a Ruia family member is part-owner, has increased its offer for Essar Steel by more than 75% to match ArcelorMittal's superior bid in the first round. According to the World Steel Association, total crude steel production was at 148.3 mln tn in March, surpassing the previous record of 144.5 mln tn set in January.
- Numetal Mauritius, backed by Russia's VTB Bank, moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Thursday claiming that rival ArcelorMittal should not be permitted 30 days to "cure its deficiency" in order to be eligible to bid for Essar Steel. Despite the government's effort to push 'Make in India' and meet an ambitious steel production target of 300 mln tn, global steel players are likely to foray into India only through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code route.
* TAXATION: Goods and Services Tax Network on Thursday said its e-way bill portal has generated more than 20 mln bills since its introduction on Apr 1. The Bombay High Court has stayed the income-tax department's show cause notices to six Tata trusts, asking them why their registration, under Section 12A of the Income-Tax Act, should not be cancelled. Continuing its drive against cash hoarders, the income tax department has seized nearly 150 mln rupees in the last two days across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Punjab. The Bombay High Court, on Thursday, stayed Income-Tax Department show-cause notices to six Tata trusts, asking them why their registrations, under Section 12A of the Income-tax Act, should not be cancelled.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: A day after the Supreme Court pointed out that it had never given any order mandating linking of Aadhaar with mobile numbers, the government has claimed that the court had instructed to do so in 2017. Mobile phone operators have said they were following directions of the Department of Telecommunications, as licence holders of telecom services, while pushing subscribers for Aadhaar-based verification of mobile phone connections.
- The government is in an advanced stage of finalising the draft national telecom policy 2018, following which it will be put before the public for comments, likely in a week's time. SoftBank has held talks with Bharat Sanchar Nigam for out leasing broadband bandwidth from OneWeb's low orbit communication satellites to disrupt the telecom technology landscape in India with low latency Internet and voice services.
* TRADE: The government is considering a national policy on retail trade with a view to ensuring orderly growth of the fast growing sector.
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* BANKING: The government will soon acquire the stake of Reserve Bank of India in housing finance regulator National Housing Bank. The Enforcement Directorate said it has attached fixed deposits worth over 1.43 bln rupees in connection with a bank loan money laundering probe against a Chennai-based gold jewellery company. Promoters of stressed assets should be allowed to bid under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in case they are not wilful defaulters and the company has suffered on account of sectoral reasons, Confederation of Indian Industry President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said.
* FUNDS: Securities Appellate Tribunal has allowed Sahara group to withdraw the plea against Securities and Exchange Board of India order that directed Sahara Mutual Fund to wind up its schemes.
*INFRASTRUCTURE: The government has identified 100 locations where it is economically viable to have ropeway cable car projects, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets has signed a pact with the National Highways Authority of India for managing toll operations on nine highway projects after the emerging highest bidder for the same at an auction held earlier.
* MEDIA: UAE-based Aries Group's Indywood Consortium is investing $5 bln to construct 2,000 multiplex screens across India, Aries Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sohan Roy said.
* OIL AND GAS: India will work to create a network with other major oil buyers in Asia like China, South Korea, and Japan, to negotiate better terms with sellers, the country's Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in New Delhi on Thursday. Essar Oil and Gas will invest 9 bln rupees in drilling 150 more wells in its Raniganj CBM block in West Bengal to more than double gas output to 2.3 mln standard cubic mtr per day by 2021, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vilas Tawde said.
* PHARMACEUTICAL: The ongoing investigations by the US Department of Justice in the alleged collusion by generic drug companies in fixing drug prices in the US may make companies more wary of undertaking price hikes in the future even if the market presents them with an opportunity.
* RAILWAYS: The Indian Railways' ambitious plans to modernise railway stations by raising 100 bln rupees through sale or lease of land is yet to gather steam due to frequent revisions in contract terms and lack of clarity on land ownership. Indian Railways will do away with unmanned crossings in 11 zones by September and will soon set a deadline for the remaining five zones, the railway ministry said. The Central Railway earned over 10 mln rupees in the last financial year by renting its various premises and rail coaches for film shootings.
* STEEL: Numetal, in which a Ruia family member is part-owner, has increased its offer for Essar Steel by more than 75% to match ArcelorMittal's superior bid in the first round. According to the World Steel Association, total crude steel production was at 148.3 mln tn in March, surpassing the previous record of 144.5 mln tn set in January.
- Numetal Mauritius, backed by Russia's VTB Bank, moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Thursday claiming that rival ArcelorMittal should not be permitted 30 days to "cure its deficiency" in order to be eligible to bid for Essar Steel. Despite the government's effort to push 'Make in India' and meet an ambitious steel production target of 300 mln tn, global steel players are likely to foray into India only through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code route.
* TAXATION: Goods and Services Tax Network on Thursday said its e-way bill portal has generated more than 20 mln bills since its introduction on Apr 1. The Bombay High Court has stayed the income-tax department's show cause notices to six Tata trusts, asking them why their registration, under Section 12A of the Income-Tax Act, should not be cancelled. Continuing its drive against cash hoarders, the income tax department has seized nearly 150 mln rupees in the last two days across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Punjab. The Bombay High Court, on Thursday, stayed Income-Tax Department show-cause notices to six Tata trusts, asking them why their registrations, under Section 12A of the Income-tax Act, should not be cancelled.
* TELECOMMUNICATION: A day after the Supreme Court pointed out that it had never given any order mandating linking of Aadhaar with mobile numbers, the government has claimed that the court had instructed to do so in 2017. Mobile phone operators have said they were following directions of the Department of Telecommunications, as licence holders of telecom services, while pushing subscribers for Aadhaar-based verification of mobile phone connections.
- The government is in an advanced stage of finalising the draft national telecom policy 2018, following which it will be put before the public for comments, likely in a week's time. SoftBank has held talks with Bharat Sanchar Nigam for out leasing broadband bandwidth from OneWeb's low orbit communication satellites to disrupt the telecom technology landscape in India with low latency Internet and voice services.
* TRADE: The government is considering a national policy on retail trade with a view to ensuring orderly growth of the fast growing sector.
